


Happy New Year

by Tea_For_One_Please



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cards Against Humanity, Established Relationship, Excessive Drinking, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Games, Humor, Just some new year fluff because i felt like it, M/M, New Year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22040344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_For_One_Please/pseuds/Tea_For_One_Please
Summary: When Mike invites Will to a house party he's hosting for New Year, Will's not really sure what to expect. He's pretty sure he'll have a good time, though.
Relationships: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	Happy New Year

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to close out the year with something like this. It's quick, and a little messy, and definitely not proofread, but I hope you like it.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's read my fics this year, and stuck with my very slow WIPs. I'm hoping to get back on them in the New Year! 
> 
> Happy New Year everyone :D

When Mike invited him to come to Chicago for New Year, Will wasn’t really sure what to expect. Now that he’s here, though, he’s finding that it’s not even slightly what he imagined. Rather than a dingy house crammed with students absolutely off the shits on cheap alcohol, everything is moderately clean (by students’ standards), and there’s only about a small group of people in the kitchen, with some board games in a rough pile by the small television, showing the festivities at Times Square in the background. No one’s bothered to take down the Christmas tree, and although it clearly hasn’t been watered in the last few days, its lights still cast a festive cheer around the room.

“Will,” Mike says excitedly, “come meet my friends.” He grabs his hand and pulls him towards the kitchen, where two other boys and two girls are gathered around an island counter. “Guys, this is my boyfriend, Will! Will, this is Dustin…”

“Hey,” says a pale boy with a massive mop of curly hair and a toothy grin.

“Lucas,” Mike continues, and the other boy nods in Will’s direction. “And this is Max and El,” Mike finishes, pointing at the redhead and the girl with the short ponytail respectively. El offers him a shy smile, and Max’s eyes light up gleefully.

“Oh, so _that’s_ Will!” Mike blushes to the tips of his ears.

“Shut up,” Mike mumbles, but Will can see that he’s biting his lip to keep from smiling.

“He talks about you _constantly_ ,” El says conspiratorially, and Mike shoves her.

“Almost literally the first thing he ever said to us,” Dustin adds. “ _Hi, I’m Mike, I have a boyfriend who’s at college in Kentucky!_ ” Will’s laughing by now, and pulls one of Mike’s hands away from his crimson face and squeezes it.

“Don’t worry,” he says, bumping his shoulder. “I’m pretty sure I’m equally embarrassing with my friends.”

“Speaking of embarrassing,” Lucas chimes in, “did Mike tell you about the time last week when he went to campus with shoes didn’t match?”

“Oh my god, Lucas,” Mike groans. “I very deliberately did not tell him that.” Will sucks in his cheeks to stop himself from laughing.

“It’s okay, darlin’,” he whispers.

“Come on,” says Mike briskly. “Let’s start acting like actual students, and hopefully Will won’t remember that by morning.” Lucas slides a beer across the counter and Mike takes a hasty swig. Will also lifts a bottle to his lips and tastes it; _it’s really not that nice_ , he thinks, hoping he’s not grimacing. He doesn’t want Mike’s friends to think he’s a loser. He takes another sip, hoping it won’t be so bad; somehow it’s worse, and it makes his eyes water.

“Not a heavy drinker, huh?” El asks quietly, and Will feels himself reddening. “It’s okay,” she shrugs. “I’m not either.” He smiles gratefully at her as Mike pulls him into the lounge, where a game of Forbidden Island is being set up.

Will is relieved to find that Mike’s friends, particularly the first group that Mike introduced him to, are as geeky as he is. He’s never played Forbidden Island, but he’s played Pandemic, and it’s the same principle: work together to recover the artefacts and escape the island before it sinks. Simple in theory, but before too long, Dustin and Max have become locked in a heated argument over whether it made more sense for him to retrieve the bronze goblet, or El, who’s wisely staying out of it. Will quickly decides that he likes El the best out of Mike’s other friends – he senses a kindred spirit, and it’s their joint idea of everyone turning over a sunken tile on their way to the escape point that narrowly wins them the game.

The games become more chaotic as the night goes on, and as more and more drinks are consumed. Forbidden Island becomes Settlers of Catan, which becomes Codenames, which becomes Dobble, which, by around 11:30, has become Cards Against Humanity. By this point, even Will and El are tipsy, and hope ran out for Dustin, Max and Lucas some time ago.

“This is the time of my life,” Mike says aloud, squinting at the card in the effort to read it. “I’m young, hot, and full of – blank.” The rest of them shuffle their cards, letting out involuntary drunken giggles as they consider the possibilities. “Five seconds,” Mike says, glancing at Will’s watch, rested on his knee. “Okay, Lucas, go.”

“Crippling debt,” Lucas says, holding up his card.

“Feminism,” El says, and Max lets out a whoop, which makes everyone laugh.

“Foreskin,” Dustin says, to general boos.

“That’s foul,” Max says loudly. “Okay, here we go – I’m young, hot and full of this groovy new thing called LSD.” Will laughs so hard at this that he can barely read out his own card.

“Self-loathing,” he breathes out between gasps of laughter. Lucas pats him sympathetically on the shoulder, making him hiccup as he holds in a giggle.

“Max wins,” Mike declares, amid a murmur of agreement.

“Sick, my turn,” she smirks, and seizes the deck. Pulling out a black card, she reads, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of – blank. Go.” Mike immediately bursts out laughing and shakes his head as he tries to suppress it.

“Unfathomable stupidity,” Will says, as everyone eyes Mike, who’s still shaking uncontrollably with amusement.

“Horny white justice,” he gasps, before collapsing into Will’s shoulder as everyone in the room joins in.

“Shutting the fuck up,” Lucas slurs, holding up his card, once everyone’s recovered.

“Menstruation,” El says, as Dustin feigns dry-heaving. “Oh, get a grip, Henderson,” she says, pushing him, while Max rolls around laughing.

“Vigorous jazz hands,” Dustin finishes.

“Lame, Dustin,” Max says.

“Blame the cards,” Dustin grumbles, but Max ignores him.

“I’m between Mike and El…”

“I vote El,” Will pipes up, and Mike looks at him in mock horror.

“Traitor,” he whispers.

“I vote El too,” says Lucas. “Just because of Dustin’s reaction.”

“That settles it, then,” Max says.

“Are we done?” El asks sleepily.

“Yeah,” Max says, consulting her scoresheet. “Which leaves El as the winner at… seven points, and Mike in second, with six.” Dustin high-fives El, as Will pulls Mike down into a congratulatory kiss.

“Anyone does that to me, they die,” El jokes, as Mike blinks in surprise.

“I didn’t win, you know.”

“Just felt like it,” Will shrugs, kissing him again.

“Five minutes to midnight,” El says, glancing at the television. “Then I’m going to bed.”

“I’m getting another drink,” Lucas announces. “Anyone else?” Max and Lucas voice their assent, as Mike beckons Will out of the room.

“Where are we going?” Will asks. His head is fully spinning by now, and he’s very aware that his inhibitions are down. “If you’re thinking about ringing in the new decade by having sex, I’m down.” Like that, for example. _Where did_ that _come from?_ the tiny sober voice in his head asks. Mike’s blinking in embarrassed surprise.

“Uh, no, I wasn’t planning that for tonight,” he admits, but he’s leading him up to his room all the same. Mike has the attic room, which Will loves, not least because his window looks out over the roof. Mike flings the window open and Will follows him out onto the cool tiles.

“Shit, it’s freezing,” Will mutters, and Mike pulls him close. “Mm,” he breathes. “Nice.”

“You’re adorable when you’re pissed, you know that?” Mike says with a laugh.

“Shut up, dork.” Mike doesn’t answer, but kisses the top of Will’s head. “Why are we up here, if not to die of cold?”

“You’ll see.”

A few minutes later, from the country club on another edge of the city, a massive fireworks display starts to light up the sky, bursting in flashes of colour with pops and bangs that echo across the night. From somewhere a few floors beneath them, drunken strains of _Auld Lang Syne_ start up.

“Wow,” Will breathes, gazing at the light show. The cold air has sobered him up a little, enough to appreciate the fireworks without sending his vision into a spin.

“Thought you’d like it,” Mike murmurs, leaning down and resting his cheek on Will’s head. “Happy New Year, Will.”

“Happy New Year, Mike.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! If so, please leave a comment with your favourite parts or just your thoughts, or drop me an ask on Tumblr (@tea-for-one-please)!


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